Colloidal solution and method of preparing same



5 certain new and Patented Sept. 19, 1922.

UNITED STATES HUGO HEW, OE HANOVER, GERMANY.

COLLOIIDAL SOLUTION AND METHOD OF PBEPABIN G SAME.

No Drawing.

Application filed October 1, 1919. Serial 1h. 827,820.

(GRANTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE ACT 01 men 8, 1921, 41 STAT. I, 1813.)

1 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, How HEMELMANN, a citizen of the Re ublic of Germany, residing at Hanover, ermany, have invented useful Improvements in Colloidal Solutions and Methods of Preparing Same (for which I have filed applications in Germany, March 3, 1917 Austria, March 18, 1918; Switzerland, March 19, 1918; Hungary, March 26, 1918; Holland, April 5, 1918; Italy, April 13, 1918; England, April'22, 1918), of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to colloidal solutions and to a method of preparing them, and its particular object is a colloidal solution of superior stability.

As is well known, solid bodies which have been sufficiently oomminuted by mechanical means, can be converted into colloidal solutions by treating them with the solutions of certain substances. Thus for instance kaolin can be converted into a hydrosol by aid of small quantities of an alcali solution. It is further well known that the stabilit of sols can be materially increased by ad ing to them certain electrolytes or organic nonelectrolytes such as albumen, gelatine, gum arabic, agar, isinglass. and the like, such substances being called protective colloids.

I have now ascertained that watery solutions of cherry gum are capable to a very high de e to convert highly oomminuted solid bo ies into colloidal solutions and also to render sols stable.

The colloidal solutions thus obtained possess a very high degree of stability not only with regard to the settling velocity of their particles but also with regard to the capacity of resistance against flaking tendencies.

Of the substances adapted to be transformed into the colloidal state by the method according to my invention the following may be mentioned specifically: solid substances such as sulphur, selenium, tellurium, carbon in its different modifications (such as lamp black, phite, blood charcoal, animal charcoals silicen, titanium, nickel, molybdenum, chromium and the like; of chemical com ounds barium sulphate, lead sulphate, wh1te lead, iron oxides, chromium oxides, metal sulphides and others.

The substances in question are preferably subjected to the treatment ina' state of extreme comminution or in the amorphous or finely grained (crystallised) state.

In some cases the method according to the present invention does not at first furnish completely colloidal solutions. In these cases the sols produced contain besides the ultra mlcroscopic particles also coarser parholes which can be discerned under the microscope and even with the naked eye. An mcomplete transformation of this kind Wlll take place for instance in the case where the substances before being treated with cherry gum have not been mechanically oomminuted to the necessary extent. In such cases it suflices to let the sols containmg coarserparticles stand for some time so as to allow these particles to settle down. The supernatant liquid is then separated from the deposit by decantation. If the solution has been allowed to stand a sufficiently long time the liquid obtained after this fashion will contain only ultra microscopic particles. The separation from the coarser particles might of course be effected as well by centrifugation or by filtration.

This modification of my process can also be used for part1 -or completely separating the components 0 amixture from each other. As difierent substances lend themselves more or less to colloidalisation, it is possible, by using suitable quantities of cherry and by predetermining the duration 0% mixing in a suitable way, to cause one of the substances to be transformed into the colloidal state, while another component of the original mixture has not yet undergone this transformation. In such a case the subsequent settling operation or centrifugation or filtration will then cause the components of the original mixture to be separated from each other by simply separating the colloidal from the non-colloidal particles.

Example I.Iron oxide designed to be used as a. paint is .mixed with about 3 per cent of cherry gum previously dissolved in water and the mixture is then intimately stirred with the required quantity of water. If the operation of stirring is interrupted, after some time the coarser particles which may still be present in-the mass will settle down and can then be separated from the supernatant suspension. This coarser residue may be found once more and may then be treated with cherry gum anew. The colloidal solution can be employed as a paint.

Example II.The hydrosols of elementary platmum obtained by electric dispersion, for instance according to Bredigs method, are comparatively little-stable. By mixing a sol of this kind containing 0.02 per cent platinum with so much of a cherry gum solution that the sol then contains between 0.05 and 0.5 per cent cherry gum, or by dissolving the corresponding quantity of cherry gum in the sol one obtains sols of a very superior stability. Of course the electric dispersion might as Well be carried through from the beginning in a dilute solution of cherry gum..

Among the various gums containing arabose, cherry-gum has superior colloid-forming properties inasmuch as it contains minimum of free acid as compared with other allied gums, and is, therefore, less liable to deflocculation. Colloidal solutions prepared with such gum have been found to be much more stable than those prepared with gum arabic or with gum tragacanth in view of the different behavior of the dispersed solutions or emulsions obtained from these gums and their difference in reversibility. Thus, it is well known that cherry gum is preferred as a stiflening agent, in the manufactureof hats and the like owing to the fact that the desiccated mixture with water is free from brittleness, while desiccated tragacanth solution These facts may be due to the presence of a considerable percentage of an elastic cerasin salt, while other gums of this class are free from such elasticity-conferring ingredients.

I claim:

1. The herein described process, which consists in treating finely divided matter with cherry gum and a dispersing medium.

2. The herein described process, which consists in treating finely divided solid matter with cherry gum and a dispersing medium.

3. The herein described process, which consists in mechanically comminuting solid substances, and treating the same with cherry gum and a dispersing medium.

4. The herein described process, which is extremely brittle;

consists in mechanically comminuting solid substances, and treating the same with an aqueous dispersing liquid containing cherry gum.

5. The herein described product which consists of finely divided matter suspended in a liquid containing cherry gum.

6. The herein described product which consists of-finely divided matter suspended;

in an aqueous dispersing liquid containing cherr gum.

, 7. The process of producing colloidal solutions which consists in treating finely divided matter containing a dispersoid with a mixture of cherry gum. V

8. The process of preparing colloidal solutions which consists in treating finely divided matter containing dispersoids with a mixture of cherry gum and a suitable dispersing medium, intimately mixing and agitating the ingredients, allowing the incompletely dispersed particles to become separated from the mixture, and eliminating said separated particles from the remaining liquor.

"9. The. process of preparing colloidal solutions which consists in treating finel divided matter containing dispersoids with a mixture of cherryum and a suitable dispersing medium, afiowing the coarser and incompletel dispersed particles to become separated rom the mixture, finely comminuting said separated particles, and treating said comminuted separated particles with a mixture of cherry gum and a dispers- HUGO HEMELMANN.

Witnesses W. BASHMANN, D12. Hommn. 

